On a dump box for trucks and trailers, it is typical to provide an end gate which hinges at the top corners of the gate such that the bottom end of the gate opening can be opened when dumping from the rear edge of the dump box. In some instances however, it is desirable to hinge the end gate at the bottom thereof for unrestricted access through the top of the gate opening to the cargo area of the dump box. It is thus desirable for the end gate panel to pivot from a closed position to an upward position pivoted along an upper horizontal axis or to a lower position pivoted along a lower horizontal axis.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,827,386 by Stevenson, 6,764,130 by Hull and 1,371,036 by Le Force describe various examples of end gate panels which can be pivoted into different positions. In each instance however separate actuation is required for releasing the end gate into either one of the upper or lower positions thereof. Hull in particular requires manually releasing each side of the gate panel separately so as to be time consuming and potentially unsafe where the operator must cross the path of the material being dumped from the cargo box. Le Force describes releasing both sides of the gate simultaneously, however different releasing mechanisms are required for actuating release of the gate panel into the upper and lower positions respectively. Furthermore, the latches are complex in configuration and are not well suited for heavy duty applications. Stevenson also requires separate actuators for releasing the gate panel into the upper and lower positions respectively. Furthermore the actuator handles are situated at a central location in the gate panel so as to position the operator in the path of material being dumped from the box in an unsafe manner.